Kelli J. Schutte
William Jewell College
Robbins & Judge
Organizational Behavior
14th Edition
Chapter Learning Objectives
Chapter Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
– Describe the two major forms of workforce diversity.– Define the key biographical characteristics and describe how
they are relevant to OB.
– Define intellectual ability and demonstrate its relevance to OB.
– Contrast the two types of ability.
– Describe how organizations manage diversity effectively.
Diversity
Biographical Characteristics
Biographical Characteristics
Objective and easily obtained personal characteristics.
Age
– Older workers bring experience, judgment, a strong work ethic, and commitment to quality.
Gender
Biographical Characteristics (Continued)
Biographical Characteristics (Continued)
Race & Ethnicity
– Contentious issue: differences exist, but could be more culture based than race based.
Tenure
– People with job tenure (seniority at a job) are more
Other Biographical Characteristics
Other Biographical Characteristics
Religion
– May impact the workplace in areas of dress, grooming and scheduling
Sexual Orientation
– Federal law does not protect against discrimination (but state or local laws may).
– Domestic partner benefits are important considerations.
Gender Identity
Ability
Ability
An individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks in a
job.
Ability
Ability
Made up of two sets of factors:
– Intellectual Abilities• The abilities needed to perform mental activities.
• General Mental Ability (GMA) is a measure of overall intelligence.
• Wonderlic Personnel Test: a quick measure of intelligence for recruitment screening.
• No correlation between intelligence and job satisfaction.
– Physical Abilities
Dimensions of Intellectual Ability
Dimensions of Intellectual Ability
E X H I B I T 2–1
Nine Basic Physical Abilities
Flexibility Factors
Flexibility Factors
Flexibility Factors
•
Extent flexibility
Other Physical Factors
Other Physical Factors
Other Factors
•
Body coordination
•
Balance
Role of Disabilities
Role of Disabilities
When focusing on ability, it can create problems when
attempting to develop workplace policies that recognize
diversity in terms of disabilities.
It is important to recognize diversity and strive for it in
the hiring process.
An organization needs to be careful to avoid
Implementing Diversity Management Strategies
Implementing Diversity Management Strategies
Making everybody more aware and sensitive to the
Global Implications
Global Implications
Biographical Characteristics
– Not much evidence on the global relevance of the relationships described in this chapter.
Additional Global Implications
Additional Global Implications
Intellectual Abilities
– Structures and measures of intelligence generalize across cultures.
Diversity Management
– Diversity management is important across the globe.
Summary and Managerial Implications
Summary and Managerial Implications
Summary:
– Ability• Directly influences employee’s level of performance.
• Managers need to focus on ability in selection, promotion, and transfer.
• Fine-tune job to fit incumbent’s abilities.
– Biographical Characteristics
Summary and Managerial Implications
Summary and Managerial Implications
–
Diversity Management
• Must be an ongoing commitment at all levels of the organization.
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